Rowhani risks coup if nuclear deal falls apart in final haggle

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President Rowhani has faced constant efforts to undermine him since he took officeAtta Kenare/Getty

Hugh Tomlinson

Published at 12:01AM, November 28 2013

Iranian hardliners discussed staging a coup to overthrow President Rowhani if his negotiating team returned from nuclear talks with world powers in Geneva without a satisfactory deal.

In a series of meetings before talks in Switzerland last weekend, senior politicians and security officials plotted to declare a state of emergency if Mr Rowhani’s team crossed one of the “red lines” set for them before the meeting.

That could have paved the way for the President to be impeached and thrown out of office.

The plan fell apart when Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister who led the Iranian delegation in